The moment Chen Chu pushed Ji Xiaotao's hand away, Ji Xiaotao's eyes were already brimming with tears. Please remember this website's URL: .
Chen Chu walked out with a smile.
"Wait! Brother Chu, I'll go with you!" Yan Zi stood up abruptly, looked back at Ji Yang, Jin Xing, and Xiao Wu, and then his gaze fell on Shao Xiaodong.
Shao Xiaodong showed no intention of moving, his face still bearing a faint smile.
"Damn!" Yan Zi muttered to Shao Xiaodong. Shao Xiaodong chuckled and said, "Yan Zi, sit down!"
"Hmph!" Yan Zi turned and left angrily, strode after Chen Chu.
Xiao Wu slammed the door shut with a thud.
He entered the room and said, "Damn it, you really think you're the boss? I'll curse you!"
Jin Xing also cursed, "Little brat, calling himself boss in front of Ji Yang? Holy crap! And what kind of Western Chu gang is this? What the hell is this? Yangzi, you should be recovered in half a month, right? When that time comes, let's gather the brothers, the Hun Tian Gang will come out of the mountains again, and let's get to work! Damn it! Western Chu gang, what the hell is this Western Chu gang!"
Shao Xiaodong laughed and said, "Brother Jin, Chen Chu is just overestimating himself."
"Sigh, you're all exaggerating!" Ji Yang sighed and said, "Chen Chu and I are brothers, we're all family, you can't say that about my brother Chu!"
Jin Xing said indignantly, "Yangzi, you treat him like a brother, but he treats you like one. You're not even dead yet, and the Hun Tian Gang has already been renamed the Xi Chu Gang! Our men aren't being valued anymore? When we stormed into the Monkey King's arena, it was all his men, while our men were just sitting on the sidelines eating. And the methods they used were simply not manly..."
Xiao Wu added, "Also, Chen Chu is a lecher. He was having sex with that slut Fang Yangyang in the van, and then they went off to the fields and did it for over forty minutes. Brother Ji, Brother Jin, and I were there. He's already having an affair with Sister Xiao Tao, and instead of treating her well, he's doing it right in front of Brother Ji. Damn, he's a real bastard..."
Ji Xiaotao closed her eyes, feeling a sudden dizziness. She exhaled twice, covered her face, ran back to her bedroom, closed the door, and collapsed onto the bed, sobbing uncontrollably.
Shao Xiaodong took out a cigarette and handed it to Jin Xing, who then glanced at Ji Yang.
Shao Xiaodong laughed and said, "It's okay, Brother Ji, have one too. The injury is almost healed, hehe..." He then gave one to Xiao Wu.
Shao Xiaodong exhaled a puff of smoke before saying, "Brother Ji, you're absolutely right, it's just that Chen Chu is a bit... a bit lacking in self-awareness!"
"That's right! Xiaodong, you're absolutely right!" Jin Xing put his arm around Shao Xiaodong's shoulder and said affectionately, "What is Chen Chu? He's just a kid, his family is dirt poor, rough. I only call him Brother Chu because of Brother Ji... Haha, he just doesn't know his place..."
Ji Yang looked at Shao Xiaodong and smiled: "Xiaodong, how strong are Chen Chu's men?"
"Hehe, Brother Ji, Chen Chu and his gang are just a bunch of kids. They were hacked out of the disco as soon as they stormed in. If it weren't for Hei Zi and Brother Feng Meng's backup, they would have been chopped into mincemeat long ago. I wasn't there that day, so I didn't see how pathetic Chen Chu's gang looked. They can only do what old folks do in the countryside. Those people are all old men and women. They wouldn't live more than a few days if they weren't beaten. I heard that the old man seems to have come back to life, but the old woman didn't make it. Damn, they didn't even spare the old woman. That's not fair..."
Ji Yang nodded and smiled at Shao Xiaodong.
Jin Xing also said, "If I hadn't been here protecting Brother Ji, I would have led Feng Meng, Hei Zi, and more than ten others to storm into the Monkey King Disco. Even if they had forty or fifty people, it wouldn't have mattered. We would have smashed it up without hesitation. Hei Zi called us right after the fight, saying that the fight was frustrating and not satisfying, and he actually ran away. It wasn't as satisfying as when he was with Brother Ji, where he could kill people quickly and decisively..."
The group chatted until evening. Ji Yang was helped out of bed, and he knocked on Ji Xiaotao's door, saying, "Sis, are you still sleeping? Get up and make some food for the brothers. It's almost dinnertime..."
Ji Xiaotao shouted from inside the room, "Go eat raw rice and raw meat! I don't have time to serve you ungrateful wretches!"
Ji Yang let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. He thought to himself, if Chen Chu hadn't created some kind of Western Chu Regiment, he really would have made him the leader. But changing his name, his men wouldn't accept it, and he even appointed that bastard Shao Xiaodong as his strategist. He'd have all the dirty work—killing people—in his head, what use was having someone else as an advisor? Leading men into battle, running away when the police came, dodging into alleys—and drawing plans? What kind of gangster is that? He'd been leading fights since he was sixteen or seventeen, never drawing plans, even when the enemy outnumbered him several times over, he'd still lead his men in and out of battle…
Ji Yang sighed. He was completely helpless when it came to his sister.
Then he sent Xiao Wu downstairs to buy vegetables and wine.
...
Shao Xiaodong couldn't hold his liquor. After drinking two bottles of beer, he became quite talkative and finally said goodbye to Ji Yang with a burp.
As soon as Shao Xiaodong left, Jin Xing said gruffly, "Look at that kid! What a coward..."
"Hmm..." Ji Yang sighed and said, "No matter what, we're still living in someone else's place."
Jin Xing took a bite of meat and said, "Yangzi, it's easy. Hei Zi has already sold his billiard hall in the city. From now on, it'll be our place. Damn it, this time we'll really give that monkey Ma and Fatty Yin a good go-ahead! We're just waiting for you to recover and lead the brothers to do it! Chen Chu is no good, he's a coward, probably because he's played with too many women, he's just a kid!"
Ji Yang put down his wine glass and said, "From now on, you're not allowed to speak ill of Brother Chu anymore. Let's do what we need to do. If Brother Chu is weak and has any difficulties in the future, we're still brothers, and we'll go to great lengths for each other. By the way, Jin Xing, um... tomorrow, take 50,000 yuan from my account and send it to Deputy Director Zhao of the Hancheng Public Security Bureau. Just tell him that I, Ji Yang, will be leaving the mountain in half a month..."
Jin Xing said, "Yang Zi, can you wait half a month to heal your injury?"
"Hey, I'm not made of paper, why can't I do it? Come on, let's drink!"
The three clinked their glasses and took a big gulp.
...
After leaving the development zone, Shao Xiaodong walked for a while and then called Yan Zi.
Half a day later, Yan Zi finally answered.
"Yan Zi, where are you?" Shao Xiaodong asked.
"Damn! He's with Brother Chu!" Yan Zi emphasized the words "Brother Chu".
"Heh, you only recognize Brother Chu, but not Brother Dong?!" Shao Xiaodong chuckled.
"Get lost! You son of a bitch, Shao Xiaodong! I'm telling you today, I'm cutting ties with you! Don't you dare call me again! Who the hell do you think you are?!"
"Damn it!" Shao Xiaodong laughed. "Yanzi, let Brother Chu answer the phone!"
"Fuck you, Brother Chu said he doesn't have time!"
At that moment, Chen Chu answered the phone and laughed, "Xiaodong, we're at the reservoir!"
"Okay! I'll be right there!"
Shao Xiaodong hung up the phone, hailed a taxi, and drove towards the reservoir.
This reservoir is Qi Dongdong's territory. Last time, Chen Chu had his affair with Zhu Na here.
Chen Chu looked at the distant waves. He had never seen the sea before, and this was his first time visiting a reservoir. He had always lived in the countryside. Last time he was here with Zhu Na, he was thinking about how to get his hands on her. Besides, it was nighttime, and he felt like he was fighting a monster. Chen Chu was too scared to look.
It was already one o'clock in the afternoon. Chen Chu and Yan Zi ate a simple bowl of noodles, and he stood there watching the rippling waves.
The waves crashed against the rocks, the rhythmic crashing sending a wave of comfort through him.
Chen Chu touched the jade thumb ring on his middle finger, feeling that it seemed even more damp in this wet place.
The autumn wind is getting stronger. Even at midday, when the sun is at its strongest, the wind still carries a gentle, refreshing coolness...
The reservoir was only a dozen miles away from the development zone. Soon, Shao Xiaodong took a taxi and saw Chen Chu on a large rock.
After paying the taxi fare, Shao Xiaodong quickly walked over.
As soon as he got to the side, Yan Zi rushed over, grabbed Shao Xiaodong by the collar, and punched him right in the corner of his mouth.
"Damn it!" Yan Zi cursed, and with that punch, he knocked Shao Xiaodong to the ground.
"Yan Zi! Stop!" Chen Chu shouted.
Shao Xiaodong laughed, stood up and said to Yan Zi, "Well done, Yan Zi, you're really something. We've been together for two or three years, and you dare to hit me?"
"Shao Xiaodong, time is no longer important; what matters is loyalty and integrity. You're a damn traitor, I'm cutting ties with you!"
"Damn it! Am I disloyal? Or am I a dog like Ji Yang and Venus? I told Brother Chu yesterday that we should cultivate our own brotherhood. Ji Yang's brothers will eventually have to go back. So what? Did I say something wrong?"
"Get out... get the hell out of here to Ji Yang's place!" Yan Zi cursed.
Chen Chu waved his hand, the wind ruffling his slightly longer hair, and exhaled, saying, "Don't hit Xiaodong. Ji Yang is still a wolf. Before, this wolf was tired and wanted to rest, but now this wolf is hungry and needs to eat a lot. Even if another wolf tries to take food from him, he might kill it. This is animal nature, and it's also human nature..."
Yan Zi said, "Brother Chu, but you're not that kind of person. I still remember how awesome we were when we formed the Western Chu Group!"
"Hehe, maybe I'm not there yet." Chen Chu said, glancing at the lush green reservoir again.
Pointing into the distance, he said, "Yanzi, Xiaodong, what do you think is ahead?"
The two men stood on either side of Chen Chu.
Yan Zi snorted and said, "Brother Chu, it's a reservoir, what else could it be?"
Shao Xiaodong looked into the distance and said, "Brother Chu, ahead... ahead is the Yao'er River. Some parts of the Yao'er River are quite deep! Bigger than our reservoir..."
"Haha..." Chen Chu laughed for a while.
"Yanzi, Xiaodong, look, there's the sea ahead!" Chen Chu frowned and pointed to the horizon where the water met the sky.
The two men squinted at it for a few moments and said, "Brother Chu, there's no sea at all!"
Yes! No! It's just this reservoir. The Yaohe River is over there.
Chen Chu shook his head and said, "Brother, countless canals converge into rivers, and countless canals converge into streams. No matter how great the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers are, they will eventually flow into the vast sea..."
"Brother Chu, what do you mean by that?" Yan Zi asked.
"Damn! You don't even understand? Brother Chu is telling you to broaden your horizons, you pig!" Shao Xiaodong punched Yan Zi on the head.
"Ouch!" Yan Zi quickly rubbed his head, and the two smiled at each other.
Chen Chu chuckled and said, "Xiaodong is right. We should broaden our horizons. The world is vast, and this is just a small city like Hancheng, a small county like Dayangshu. I'm still stuck in Dayangshu Township and Xiaoyangshu Village, just like our reservoir. It can only go this far. If you look further ahead, there's the Yaohe River, then the Huasong River, and then maybe the sea. Just like above Hancheng there's Chuncheng, and even better than Chuncheng is Shencheng... and then there's Beijing. I don't know about you, but I've never been to Beijing..."
"Hehe, we've never been there either... we've seen it on TV..." They both laughed.
Chen Chu laughed and said, "Let's... leave this little Hancheng to Fatty Yin, Monkey Ma, and Brother Ji. Let them fight it out among themselves. We'll go to a wider world, where the sea is wide enough for fish to leap and the sky is high enough for birds to fly. We can carve out a world for ourselves in a big city. Isn't that much better than this little reservoir? What we want is the ocean, not this little reservoir..."
Chen Chu's words enlightened the two of them, as if they could already see the azure ocean and the dazzling allure of the metropolis...